Cyberattack on refrigeration system forces Bern butcher to close

A cyberattack on the controls of its cold-storage equipment has shut a Bern butcher’s shop temporarily. Lüthi’s Fleischwaren said the electronic controls of its refrigeration and deep-freeze units had been tampered with in a targeted attack. The owners disconnected the systems from the mains and closed the shop to rule out risks to food safety.

The shop said it was checking all processes and systems. It planned to reopen on November 20, provided the units were cooling reliably again. The incident is the first publicly reported attack of this kind in Switzerland.

The owners cut power to the refrigeration units as a precaution. Lüthi’s Fleischwaren said the attack had affected the electronic controls of both its refrigeration and deep-freeze equipment. Disconnecting the systems from the mains allowed the owners to avoid relying on equipment whose operation had been tampered with while they assessed its safety.

The closure followed that decision. The shop said it was checking its processes and systems, with reopening conditional on the units cooling reliably again. Its stated target was November 20. The response links the cyber incident directly to the shop’s ability to store food safely and continue trading.

The Bern incident follows attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems elsewhere in Europe. Keystone-SDA reported recent incidents affecting shops in Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Estonia and the Netherlands. The Bern case is the first publicly reported attack of this kind in Switzerland.

Lüthi’s Fleischwaren identified the target as the electronic controls for its cold-storage equipment. The owners’ decision to disconnect the units and close the shop shows how an attack on those controls can interrupt a food business while its systems are checked. The shop said its processes and equipment were under review before it could resume operations.

The shop’s return to business depends on reliable cooling. Lüthi’s Fleischwaren said it was checking all processes and systems after disconnecting its refrigeration and deep-freeze units. It set November 20 as its planned reopening date, conditional on the equipment cooling reliably again.

For customers in Bern, the immediate effect is a temporary closure while the owners carry out those checks. For Switzerland, the incident is the first publicly reported cyberattack on a refrigeration system of this kind. The report places it alongside recent attacks on supermarket cooling systems in five European countries.